Ch. 3…A Taste of Blood

The next time I was brought to the torture room, there was a woman strapped to the table.

"Dynaheir," I cried. She turned her head.

"Thou art alive, Lorian!"

Dynaheir, always so poised and dignified, such a formidable young woman, now looked more like the frightened girl whom I had helped rescue from the gnolls' stronghold a year ago. I had hoped to never see that look on her face again. She had been stripped of her jewelry and her clothing was stained and disheveled.

"Are you well? Do you know what happened to the others?" I asked.

"I have not been harmed. Imoen…"

"You have seen her?" Dynaheir nodded and tears sprang to her dark eyes.

"He hath hurt her grievously, Lorian. Doth he torture thee as well?" I nodded. "I am to be next?"

Instead of answering, I tried to release the bindings that held her to the table. I could not discover the trick to it. Then the jailer golem grabbed me by one shoulder and dragged me backwards a few steps.

"Hath Minsc been brought to this place?"

"You are the first of the group that I've seen," I said. "I don't even know how I came to be here. Last I remember we were at a party."

"Thou wert with a woman," she said dryly. "Minsc saw thee leave with her. Later, a message was sent to our hotel, asking me and Imoen to meet thee. We were told thou hadst run afoul of the law and were detained at the Flaming Fist gaol."

"And you believed it?"

"Hath happened before," she said, even more dryly. "'Tis always Imoen thou callest upon for aid on these occasions. I should have suspected something amiss when thou askest for me as well."

"I know why he took me," I said.

"Doth this have aught to do with thy divine blood?"

I nodded.

"But I do not know what he wants with you. And I don't understand why he went after only you and Imoen."

"'Twas deliberately done, if in error. The mage's hirelings had been directed to kidnap thine human female companion," she said. "They did not know which of us to take so they took us both."

"It still makes no sense."

"'Tis a mystery," she began and then her eyes widened. I turned to see Irenicus enter the room.

"Hold him securely," the mage told the golem. It wrapped its arms around me in a bizarre parody of an embrace. I couldn't wiggle out of its hold. In fact, I could barely take a deep breath.

"Does it distress you or relieve you to see another in your place?" he asked me. There was a glint in his eye that disturbed me greatly.

"Release her," I said. "Your business is with me, not her." He smiled a little and approached the table.

"A Rashemen witch," he said. "You have traveled far in search of the truth behind Alaundo's prophecies, have you not? Perhaps it will be your good fortune to catch a glimpse of the possibilities." She gave him a steely gaze. I could not imagine how he had come to know anything about her. How long had he been watching us all?

Perhaps he had tortured the information out of Imoen.

"You have no right to detain me here. What is it you wish from me?" Dynaheir asked in a haughty voice.

"I, too, seek the truth," he said and released the binding holding down her left arm. In a sudden deft move, he popped her elbow out of joint. She shrieked and I yelled something, I'm not sure what. I stood so close that I could not only see the gray tinge to her skin but also the beads of sweat that had popped out on her face. I had dislocated a shoulder once and the pain had been truly shocking.

Methodically, over the course of the next couple of hours, Irenicus dislocated her wrist and all five fingers of her left hand. Much later, I found myself bruised from my struggles against the golem's grip but I felt nothing at the time.

"It is convenient that she is here to serve as your proxy, so to speak," he said in my ear. We both watched Dynaheir gasp for breath. "I have been without music for a very long time and I find myself loath to disable my lutenist."

This enraged me on so many levels that I was speechless for a moment.

"You actually expect me to continue playing the lute for you after what you have done?"

"I expect that you will obey my every command," he said silkily.

Die, I thought with all my heart. Die, die, die! I thought I had known anger and hatred in my life. My brother Sarevok had killed the only father I had ever known before my very eyes. But the feelings I had for Sarevok were but a candle flame to the inferno that raged through me now.

Irenicus leaned toward me with a tight satisfied smile on his lips. He brushed the hair out of my eyes in a gesture that mimicked affection. I jerked away from him. Die, I thought again and I may have even said it aloud. If the gods are just, you will die by my hand.

Irenicus went to the counter and selected one of the knives.

"Release his right arm," he told the golem. It adjusted its grip on me. "Bring him closer." The golem walked me over to the table. Dynaheir stared up in silent appeal. Irenicus put the knife in my hand, and used both his hands to control my wrist.

"Do you wish to kill me with this blade?" he asked.

"Release me and find out." I barely recognized my own voice.

In a quick movement, Irenicus forced my arm down so that the knife slashed across Dynaheir's upper arm. The knife was sharp and the cut went deep. She and I both screamed. I let the knife fall to the floor.

Irenicus told the golem to secure my right arm again and then he let his palm fill with my friend's blood. He brought his bloody hand to my face.

"The scent of fresh blood awakens primal emotions in us all, do you not agree? Blood is life, blood is strength. We know this in the core of our being." Warm blood dripped from his hand down my chest. "Drink this blood, Lorian, as an offering to call forth your divine soul."

I turned my head away in horror and disgust.

"No," I whispered.

"Drink it," he said. "Or I shall force you to gouge out her eye next."

A shudder ran through me and I turned to meet his gaze. His eyes were avid, his voice was cold, and I had no doubt whatsoever that he would do exactly what he said. I bent my head and lapped the blood from his hand.

Die by my hand.

"This is the way it must be," he said in my ear as I licked his palm like a dog. His free hand stroked my hair. A red-tinged darkness came over me. I do not remember what happened next, until I woke alone in my cell with blood on my clothes. None of it was mine.

xxxxx

The cell door opened. I remained where I was, staring at the wall. Someone spoke. I ignored the sound. Eventually it stopped.

The door opened again some time later. There were two of them this time. A hand grasped my shoulder and I did not resist as it rolled me onto my back.

"He's very cold," Ulene said, turning her head to speak to the other. Her face and her voice were anxious. "Lorian, please, you must get up now."

I closed my eyes in response.

The hand shook me.

"Get up," Cania said. "These are his orders. It is my sister who will suffer if you disobey." I opened my eyes at that. Did I care? Did it matter who suffered?

"I can't."

"You can't get up?" Cania asked. "Have you been hurt? Let us help you."

I shut my eyes again.

"I can't."

There was silence for a moment.

"Please, Lorian, you must try," Ulene said. She sounded close to tears. She shook me harder. "I don't know what to do," she wailed.

"This is the way it must be," I said. I don't know if she heard me. My voice was almost gone.

"Should we tell him?" Ulene asked.

"No," Cania replied. "Get the golem."

Things happened. I was carried. Dumped into a tub of hot water. Dried and laid on a bed. Someone tried to work clothes over my limp body and finally gave up. Nothing made much of an impact until I heard his voice.

"Why am I kept waiting?"

"I'm sorry," Ulene said tearfully. "He seems to be drugged or ill. I don't know what is wrong."

There was silence for a moment. A cold hand touched my face, peeled back my eyelid. I turned my face away. "All is well. I have found the key to his inner nature and he knows it. He cannot retreat from this knowledge forever." The voice moved away. "I will allow him a respite however. Do not bother to dress him. Let him sleep here for now, and both of you stay with him. Keep him warm and…tend to him."

"Both of us?" Ulene asked.

"There is a chance he may turn violent later. If one of you is injured, the other can summon aid."